Bushwig's Founders Say Gentrification Has Pushed the Annual Drag Festival out of Brooklyn

Drag and queer performance festival Bushwig is moving to the Knockdown Center in Maspeth, Queens for its fifth edition this year, which will take place on September 10-11, its founders Horrorchata and Babes Trust have said.

While the founders told THUMP last year that they moved to the new venue Onderdonk House because they wanted to "fly out of the nest and move into a bigger space," Horrorchata told DNAinfo in an interview published today that this year's move is explicitly because of the rising cost of rent in New York City.

"The latest performers in New York are struggling as the city is getting gentrified faster than ever," she said. "But the creativity and the freaks aren't going anywhere. We are dealing with the fact that this city is constantly evolving and what really matters is the art will always be here."

The event started in 2012 in Bushwick, hence the pun in its name, and moved last year from its original location at DIY venue Secret Project Robot to the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood, which closed this summer.

The event will be headlined by RuPaul's Drag Race star Latrice Royale and Bushwig-precursor Wigstock founder Lady Bunny, featuring music from Beats in Space head honcho Tim Sweeney and Papi Juice affiliate DJ Bebe.

Last year, Horrorchata and Babes Trust told THUMP that they founded Bushwig to "create a larger platform for the thriving drag and performance communities in New York." We also got to poll the festival's attendees in Ridgewood to see if drag and raves go together.

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